HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - The Williams College men's golf team began its participation in the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Golf National Championship on Tuesday at Mission Inn + Resort near Orlando on Tuesday afternoon.
The Williams golfers got about halfway through their round before lightning forced a suspension of play.
Nick Smith was shooting even par through eight holes, and Owen Nielson was two-over through 10 holes. The other three golfers -
Will Rich,
Alex Moller, and
Jack Estrella - were all at three-over, having played eight, nine, and eleven holes respectively.
The format at the National Championship is a pair of opening rounds, each on a different course. There are two courses at Mission Inn + Resort are El Campeon, where Williams played on Tuesday and will finish the round on Wednesday, and Las Colinas, where the Ephs will play on Wednesday immediately after completing their round on El Campeon.
After the opening rounds, the field will be cut from 43 teams of five and 10 individual golfers (225 total golfers) to 18 teams and six individuals (96 total) for two more rounds of golf on Thursday and Friday, both on El Campeon.
The Ephs qualified for the NCAAs by virtue of their victory at the NESCAC Championship from April 24-26, where they finished 13 strokes ahead of second-placed Tufts at Fox Hopyard Golf Course, hosted by Trinity College.
